Among his many other contributions to our Commonwealth and our
nation, Senator Edward M. Kennedy was one of the foremost advocates
for arts and culture at the federal level. In addition to being
among the original sponsors of the creation of the National Endowments
for the Arts and Humanities in 1965, Senator Kennedy co-founded
the Senate Cultural Caucus in 2005 to provide a forum on policies
affecting the arts and humanities. Throughout his career, he sponsored
several bills intended to protect artists.

I'd like to share with you this video of an address that Senator
Kennedy made to our Local Cultural Council volunteers at the LCC
program's 25th anniversary celebration at the State House in 2005.
In it, he expresses both his deeply personal relationship to the
arts and his belief in the value of the work that you do every day.